Almond Blossom is my favourite Van Gogh. I came home with it on a magnet and a coaster, because of what it stands for. Almond trees flower early in spring, and for …
I had heard about Amsterdam‘s houseboats. I had even watched Rebecca fall into a canal in Ted Lasso and spend the night on one. What I had not grasped was how many …
Most people come to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam for one painting. I did too. On May 2nd I finally stood in front of the Sunflowers, and my first thought was …
On 1 May we arrived at the W Amsterdam before our room was ready. While we waited, the hotel recommended breakfast at Greenwoods, on the Singel canal. I’ll be honest: I was …
Amsterdam is a bicycle city. That part of the reputation is accurate, and it makes sense. With the canals, the density of the centre, and the environmental case for leaving the car …
I went to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam for the paintings and came out thinking about a family. Vincent van Gogh sold very little in his lifetime and died believing he …
I have written about the Moco Museum in Amsterdam more than any other building. The Banksys, the Basquiat room, the immersive floors, the garden. What I had never written about is the …
Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat in De Pijp has now fed me breakfast three times, at three different places, and I am beginning to think the street should be on the tourist map …
This is the boat. Cream hull, varnished timber window frames, lifebuoys strapped to the canopy, a Dutch flag at the bow, and along the side the registration and the capacity: twenty passengers. …
There is only one surviving portrait photograph of Vincent van Gogh. It was taken in January 1873, when he was nineteen, before he had painted anything at all. A second photograph, long …